ICERAYS MAKE TRIO OF TRADES; MNICH TO WORLD JUNIORS

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Corpus Christi IceRays geared up for a busy holiday stretch by making trades Tuesday with the Aberdeen Wings, Chippewa Steel and Northeast Generals, including the acquisition of forward Mitch Machlitt and the rights to goaltender Brian George.

Additionally, IceRays goaltender Florian Mnich (Passau, Germany) has been named to the preliminary roster for Team Germany at 2019 IIHF U20 World Championship (Division I, Group A), which takes place Dec. 9-15 in Fussen, Germany.

“Acquiring experienced players and assets through this important stretch was vital,” said IceRays head coach Ryan Cruthers. “This is a great opportunity for us to gain momentum through the holidays and start climbing toward a playoff position.”

Machlitt, 19, joins the IceRays from Aberdeen, where he posted eight points (2+6) in 15 games this season. The Maple Grove, Minn., native registered three points (2+1) in seven games two seasons ago with the Minnesota Magicians before spending the 2017-18 season overseas with Avesta BK (Sweden). In total, Machlitt registered 47 points (18+29) in 42 regular season contests for Avesta BK. In exchange for Machlitt, the Wings receive a 2018 Tender and a 2020 5th round pick.

The IceRays acquired the rights to George from Chippewa in exchange for a 2019 7th round pick. George, 19, has spent this season with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, appearing in three games and posting a record of 2-0-0. The Farmington Hills, Mich., native played last year for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL), and in the prior season (2016-17), won a T1EHL U18 Championship with Victory Honda.

The IceRays also received a 2018 Tender and 2019 Tender from the Northeast Generals in exchange for forward Jordan Randall.

The IceRays return to American Bank Center this weekend for the final two home games of the calendar year. Faceoff Friday and Saturday nights against the Odessa Jackalopes is set for 7:05 PM CT. This weekend, tickets are available at a special holiday discount of just $10 for adults and $9 for children 12 and under. Saturday’s game also features the Teddy Bear Toss, where fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears and other stuffed animals and throw them onto the ice in celebration of the IceRays’ first goal of the game. Participating fans can show their teddy bears at the IceRays table in the arena concourse to be registered to win a suite for a future IceRays game. The bears will be donated to multiple organizations within the community. Saturday also features pre-game and post-game public skating sessions presented by Braselton Homes, as well as an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. More details are available at goicerays.com.

Single game tickets, season seat memberships, group tickets and suites for the remainder of the 2018-19 IceRays season are on sale now. Visit goicerays.com or call 361-814-PUCK (7825) for tickets or more information. Stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays) and Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays).